American journal of physiology. Renal physiology
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Am. J. Physiol. Renal Physiol. · Jan 2004
Low endogenous glucocorticoid allows induction of kidney cortical cyclooxygenase-2 during postnatal rat development.
In postnatal weeks 2-4, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is induced in the rat kidney cortex where it is critically involved in final stages of kidney development. We examined whether changes in circulating gluco- or mineralocorticosteroids or in their renal receptors regulate postnatal COX-2 induction. Plasma corticosterone concentration peaked at birth, decreased to low levels at days 3-13, and increased to adult levels from day 22. ⋯ Dexamethasone suppressed COX-2 in these cells. Thus low plasma concentrations of corticosterone allowed for cortical and medullary COX-2 induction during postnatal kidney development. Increased circulating glucocorticoid in the postnatal period may damage late renal development through inhibition of COX-2.
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Am. J. Physiol. Renal Physiol. · Jan 2004
Three-dimensional functional reconstruction of inner medullary thin limbs of Henle's loop.
Digital three-dimensional (3-D) functional reconstructions of inner medullary nephrons were performed. Antibodies against aquaporins (AQP)-1 and -2 and the chloride channel ClC-K1 identified descending thin limbs (DTLs), collecting ducts (CDs), and ascending thin limbs (ATLs), respectively, through indirect immunofluorescence. Tubules were labeled in transverse sections and assembled into 3-D arrays, permitting individual tubule or combined surface representations to depths of 3.3 mm to be viewed in an interactive digital model. ⋯ AQP1 expression was entirely undetectable in shorter long-looped DTLs. ClC-K1 is expressed continuously along the terminal portion of all DTLs reconstructed here, beginning with a prebend region approximately 164 microm before the bend in all tubules and continuing through the entire ascent of the ATLs to the base of the inner medulla. CDs express AQP2 continuously and extensive branching patterns are illustrated. 3-D functional reconstruction of inner medullary nephrons is capable of showing axial distribution of membrane proteins in tubules of the inner medulla and can contribute to further development and refinement of models that attempt to elucidate the concentrating mechanism.
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Am. J. Physiol. Renal Physiol. · Nov 2003
Altered expression of major renal Na transporters in rats with bilateral ureteral obstruction and release of obstruction.
Urinary tract obstruction impairs urinary concentrating capacity and reabsorption of sodium. To clarify the molecular mechanisms of these defects, expression levels of renal sodium transporters were examined in rats with 24-h bilateral ureteral obstruction (BUO) or at day 3 or 14 after release of BUO (BUO-R). BUO resulted in downregulation of type 3 Na+/H+ exchanger (NHE3) to 41 +/- 14%, type 2 Na-Pi cotransporter (NaPi-2) to 26 +/- 6%, Na-K-ATPase to 67 +/- 8%, type 1 bumetanide-sensitive Na-K-2Cl cotransporter (BSC-1) to 20 +/- 7%, and thiazide-sensitive cotransporter (TSC) to 37 +/- 9%. ⋯ BUO-R for 3 days caused a persistant downregulation of NHE3 to 53 +/- 10%, NaPi-2 to 57 +/- 9%, Na-K-ATPase to 62 +/- 8%, BSC-1 to 50 +/- 12%, and TSC to 56 +/- 16%, which was associated with a marked reduction in the net renal reabsorption of sodium (616 +/- 54 vs. 944 +/- 24 micromol x min-1 x kg-1; P < 0.05) and phosphate (6.3 +/- 0.9 vs. 13.1 +/- 0.4 micromol x min-1. kg-1; P < 0.05) demonstrating a defect in renal sodium and phosphate reabsorption capacity. Moreover, downregulation of Na-K-ATPase and TSC persisted in BUO-R for 14 days, whereas NHE3, NaPi-2, and BSC-1 were normalized to control levels. In conclusion, downregulation of renal Na transporters in rats with BUO and release of BUO are likely to contribute to the associated urinary concentrating defect, increased urinary sodium excretion, and postobstructive polyuria.
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Am. J. Physiol. Renal Physiol. · Nov 2003
Regulation of renal cortical cyclooxygenase-2 in young rats.
Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is involved in kidney morphogenesis and is transiently elevated in the immature kidney. In adult rats, renal cortical COX-2 expression is tonically suppressed by mineralocorticoids (MC) and glucocorticoids (GC) and induced by chronic salt restriction. Young rats have low levels of GC and are in a state of relative volume depletion. ⋯ Salt supplementation suppressed cortical COX-2 expression in a dose- and time-dependent pattern in the suckling rats. Cortical COX-2 expression in the weanling rats was upregulated by a low-salt diet and downregulated by a high-salt diet. These results suggest that relative volume depletion and reduced GC levels are involved in elevated cortical COX-2 expression in the immature rodent kidney.
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Am. J. Physiol. Renal Physiol. · Oct 2003
P2Y2 receptor-stimulated release of prostaglandin E2 by rat inner medullary collecting duct preparations.
Extracellular nucleotides, acting through the P2Y2 receptor and the associated phosphoinositide-Ca2+ signaling pathway, inhibit AVP-stimulated osmotic water permeability in rat inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD). Because a rise in intracellular Ca2+ is frequently associated with enhanced arachidonic acid metabolism, we examined the effect of activation of the P2Y2 receptor on release of PGE2 in freshly prepared rat IMCD suspensions. Unstimulated IMCD released moderate, but significant, amounts of PGE2, which were more sensitive to cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 than COX-1 inhibition. ⋯ Thus purinergic stimulation resulted in significantly more release of PGE2 in the presence of COX-2 inhibitor than COX-1 inhibitor. If it is assumed that increased release of PGE2 is related to its increased production, our results suggest that purinergic stimulation of IMCD results in enhanced production and release of PGE2 in a COX-1-dependent fashion. Because PGE2 is known to affect transport of water, salt, and urea in IMCD, interaction of the purinergic system with the prostanoid system in IMCD can modulate handling of water, salt, and urea by IMCD and, thus, may constitute an AVP-independent regulatory mechanism.